Trick or Treat

Tis the season for thrills and chills but not in the furniture buying process! Have you been tricked in the past and got home and hated it? Did the sales person creepily follow you through the store and intimidate you in making a quick purchase and by the time you get it, it isn’t your style at all…..

This time is different. No more tricks, just treats. Treat yourself to endless customization. Remember always wanting to go to the house with the king size candy bars? Now you can come to the store with the biggest selection. With hundreds of fabrics and leathers from Klaussner, Rowe, England, Palliser, Bernhardt, Flex steel and more! You only buy what you love. To be able to get it in a few days is convenient but think about how long you will own this furniture. Just because you can have it fast doesn’t mean you have it the way you want it. Let’s change that. How about four to six weeks and you get exactly what you want. So you wait a month and a half, it seems long right? But think about how long you will keep it, seven years or more? Doesn’t seem that long of a wait anymore. You should have control of what you want, not what you have to settle for. If a store doesn’t have the color you want, do you settle for the one in front of you? I hope not.

Here are a couple of “tricks” for you to keep in mind. 1. Do your homework: Find styles that interest you. See if you can customize them in store. 2. Price shop a little, obviously there are online retailers that will always show “the best price” but read the fine print. If you want it delivered in your house and set up you will most likely spend more. The best way to price shop is within your market. Find local stores and compare with in your driving distance, print out and bring in your findings, a good retailer would not let a customer walk over a few bucks. 3. Try out the furniture if you can. Every sofa, chair, ottoman will have a different feel. Do you like down cushions or super firm? 4. “Treat” yourself to a great experience. Do not settle for a sales person that you do not connect with or trust. Find someone you can talk to as a friend. You are expressing yourself with your furniture, you will want someone who can read your style and help point you in the right direction.

With these 4 easy tips try not to get tricked and simply treat yourself, you deserve it. Furniture shopping should be just as much fun as shopping for new clothes or a new car. Don’t settle for typical, we don’t all wear the same clothes or drive the same car so step out and have a different living room as well. I gave you the tricks, now it’s time to shop for the treats.

A Unique Creation

What is your one and only? How do you hold true to yourself and what you love? Must you settle for ordinary when you are one of a kind? The same must apply to the furniture you place in your home. Furniture normally comes in shades of brown, mass produced for convenience. What if I told you it doesn’t have to be that way? Step out of the norm and fill your home with pieces you connect with, pieces that have a story. Our store designer, Carolyn Wood goes out of her way to find unique pieces from manufacturers to give us the ability to cater to every customer’s style. She finds pieces that are hand painted or use reclaimed wood. Pieces that you can order but all are slightly different. The grain in the wood is different or pieces that are painted might have more blues or reds than others. Carolyn picks furniture that pulls out emotion from the consumer. Furniture that you can place in your home and walk by every day and see it in a different light.

As a collaborative effort, our owner and Carolyn took it one step further and teamed up with an artist, Maggie Oberc, to truly create one of a kind pieces for the store. Maggie is the founder and director of ArtSpot Studio and has had a relationship with Kensington and Carolyn for some time now. (see artist’s bio below) Carolyn and Maggie started by searching through antique shops and by attending auctions to find outdated pieces that have been left behind. Maggie would then give new life to these pieces and they can be found here at Kensington as part of our One and Only Collection. This collection demonstrates the true definition of re-purpose, redefine and rediscover. Old pieces that seem out dated have transformed into works of art thanks to Maggie. Each piece completed has a story. On the back of the hand written tag you will find it’s journey and how it has become the one of a kind piece it is today. Carolyn and Maggie are examples of how creativity and thinking outside of the box can transform any part of your house into a unique creation. 



 

BEFORE AFTER

Growing up in Europe, she was inspired by the world class art, stunning architecture, and old world craftsmanship.  This inspiration is what led her to study fine art and design in her native Poland.  Her adventure continued when she moved to the United States to further her studies and found her passion, decorative painting.  Experimenting with unusual media, combining different textures, seeing potential and finding new purpose for forgotten treasures is part of her signature style.  Her natural artistic abilities, willingness to travel both locally and internationally, and commitment to excellence has established long lasting relationships with her clients.

ArtSpot Studio is the company founded in 2004, providing decorative high-end painting for furniture and architecture with attention to detail. Artistic approach to wall design combined with great sense of color and space satisfies even the most discerning clients.

ArtSpot Studio is best known for an imaginative blend of old and new. With Decorative Painting comes a vast array of creative looks for almost any surface. We can transform any standard look into spectacular visual treat. Our simple or multilayered techniques can be applied to walls, furniture, moldings and doors, ceilings, floors, tiles, canvases. We offer Decorative Finishes using high quality paints, metallic mediums, plasters and other textural mediums, stenciling and freehand painting.

We collaborate with building contractors, designers, architects, commercial and residential individuals to personalize and capture the vision of passion of each client’s environment.

Recycling is a new “green” approach to design. Everything can be given a second life, and be repurposed. Therefore, there is no need to throw things away. We can transform anything from Dining Tables, Armoires, Headboards, Night Stands, Kitchen Cabinets, Bars…even Countertops and Tiles.

BYOF (Bring Your Own Furniture) for a quick makeover, or visit our online store to see already painted ready for a new home reclaimed furniture.

 

Fall into the Season

It’s that time of the year again, the time to fall into the season. Many customers ask us how to decorate for the changing seasons without having to drastically alter their living spaces. Furniture is an investment, so we suggest that you pick something that matches your style. This could mean selecting an arrangement that remains neutral to the various seasons so that you do not have to worry about changing your style every three months. You don’t have to go out and buy a whole new house worth of furniture. In fact, there are small ways to make a big impact on your living space. One way is through artwork; it is a great way to change the feel of your room. You can alter the landscapes of individual rooms or simply just swap  pictures of your family to match the current season 

So how do you change it up? How can you use small accessories to make a big impact? First step for a living space is to change up the pillows. It is a small expense that can have a big impact on what you want. When picking the pillows for the season you should keep your desired color scheme in mind.  Will you be picking burnt orange and butternut squash or more earthy tones of browns? With pillows you can add tons of texture to the room. Pick thicker fabrics like velvets or burlap to give your space a warm autumn feel. While you are at it, why stop at just one fabric,  this could be your time to add  a sense of richness to the room. Go with a theme that goes along with what you like most about the fall. By adding throw pillows to the mix, it will not only help to accessorize, but it will also give you something to cozy up with by the fire on cold nights to come. 

So what inspires you?  Is it the leaves changing, or the crisp autumn air? Hot cider, hay bales and corn stalks? Apple picking and pumpkin picking have always been a season favorite for me. If you bring these elements into your home, it creates a cheap and easy way to add festive elements at a low cost that will leave a big impact. Just remember, at the end of the day this is your home and you want it to both comfort and inspire you. Pick accessories that naturally do that. Fall in love with your home as you fall into the season. Breathe in that fresh autumn air and let the decorating begin. 

Perfectly Imperfect

We all know no one is perfect, so why do we strive to be? Our looks, our clothes, our jobs, our homes…... Do you dream of having a perfect house that everyone admires? Do you wish to have that perfect bedroom oasis or a perfectly decorated living room, but you can’t seem to fit your pieces together to make your perfect room happen?

How about having a room that is perfectly imperfect? You should be okay with the fact that not everything has to match. A dresser from your grandmother might just look awesome with your new upholstered headboard. You can use both old and new décor together to create a hand-me-down eclectic look. You can add pops of color in unexpected places to cheer up a space. This help could come from either a purple desk chair or a pink ceramic elephant head on the wall. Having a perfectly matching room can be off-setting and feel strange, just like something out of a movie. A great example of perfectly imperfect is rustic-chic. It may stir up a sense of the glitz and glam of an old farm house: a farm with reclaimed wood, luxurious linens, pops of color and a classic organic vibe. It should be about finding what best fits your style.

I love modern and vintage, colors and neutrals; there is no need to pick just one! You don’t have to match the sheets to the drapes, or buy a typical bedroom set so that everything can match. Try buying a headboard here and a dresser there, and then tie it together with various colors and

patterns. 

Try hitting up the local furniture stores to see how they place items together. Use their stylist to inspire your next home design. These people will inspire your with the foundations for rooms, the backbone for the pieces to your next great design. Then you can hit up the local vintage shop to find accent pieces that will add some flair to your space.  By adding an assortment of accessories you could really can bring everything together.  You could find an old chandelier at a flea market and hang it over your bed.  You could reupholster a Queen Anne sofa in a funky fabric, then cover it with a variety of down pillows.  You could buy a modern table and 6 mix and match chairs. By simply adding charm, you can create a perfectly imperfect room. It is okay to be different, so why feel the need to make your home cookie cutter? Create a room that emulates your individuality, a room that is perfectly imperfect!